Come On and Smile
by TheAnonymousTypewriter
Summary: Ever since Pinkamena was a little filly, she's been hiding who she really was. It's never been a problem. Until now.
1. Party Time

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I rub my eyes and reach over to shut off my alarm, hitting Gummy in the process. I rest my head in my hooves and sigh. Not this again. I'm not really ready for another birthday after my last one—my twentieth—being the worst one ever.

I slip out of bed and head to the bathroom to curl and wash my naturally straight hair. There is a small tapping noise against the door. I look over and set down the curling iron.

"Oh, hey Gummy," I pick Gummy up off the floor and hold him in my arms. "I hope our birthdays go better than last time." I remember it all too well: The flour sack, the dust bunny, the rock pile. It still gives me shivers. I lean against the bathroom counter blankly staring.

_Come on, Pinkie, snap out of it,_ I tell myself, _you have a birthday party to go to! _I blink and set Gummy down on the floor. I march over to my closet and study my dresses. The truth is I hate them all. Even though I had most of them tailor-made by Rarity, they're not really my style. That's because they're not for me: They're for Pinkie Pie, the mare I pretend to be.

I pick the least over-the-top dress I own and look over myself one more time in the mirror before I head downstairs. I smile my best fake smile. It hardly takes any effort anymore.

I bounce down the stairs and into the Cakes' bakery. Mr. Cake is away at the moment, no doubt purchasing the last few items for my party. The twins are sitting in their high chairs and Mrs. Cake is feeding them breakfast. When she hears me coming she drops the spoon she was using, runs over, and hugs me.

"Happy Birthday, Sweetie," she says. "You're getting so big!" Mrs. Cake trots over to the fridge and pulls out a whole cake. She cuts a slice, puts it on a plate, and gives it to me.

"Here," she says. "Breakfast."

"Really?!" I ask in disbelief. Mrs. Cake nods. I waste no time digging into my cake. The only thing I'm not faking when I'm being Pinkie is my sweet tooth.

"Your friends will be here in a few hours," Mrs. Cake reminds me. "Help me finish decorating."

I try to help Mrs. Cake decorate, but I can't focus on anything. I feel jittery, like I'm on a sugar high. I think it's a combination of cake and a small amount of birthday excitement.

At 10:00, there's a knock at the door.

"Can you get that, dear?" Mrs. Cake asks. "Sure!" I reply. I gallop to the door and open it to find myself face-to-face with Twilight Sparkle.

"Hi Twilight!" I greet happily.

"Happy Birthday Pinkie Pie!" Twilight hugs me and simultaneously uses telekinesis to put my cube shaped birthday gift on the table. Spike arrives soon after and pulls me aside.

"Don't let the shape fool you," he whispers. "That's definitely a book." I laugh. "That's OK. I love books!"

My four other friends arrive one by one, each equipped with a birthday gift. The party goes on all day. All of my friends are already twenty-one so they took me to some new places I'd never been to. We went to the bowling alley and even had a few drinks. After all the presents had been opened and all the cake eaten, all my friends went home.

All except Rainbow Dash.


	2. Truth or Dare

"Man that sure was fun, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash exclaims as she trots upstairs and into my room. "Thanks for letting me stay the night, too." She sets her overnight bag down on the floor and begins to unpack. The room is uncomfortably silent after that.

"Do you wanna, like, talk or something?" Rainbow asks. Then she grins. "Let's play Truth or Dare."

"Ok," my voice comes out as a squeak. "You go first."

"You don't even have to ask," Rainbow Dash says. "I pick dare."

"I dare you to go one day without flying unless you're flying home," I dare Rainbow. Her grin falters, only to return. "Done!" she agrees. "Truth or dare?"

"Can you tell me what each one is?" I ask.

"Technically, that's cheating," Rainbow replies. "But since it's your birthday, I'd be willing to let it slide. So, either you don't throw any parties for six months or you tell me your biggest secret." Rainbow knows she's got me on that one. Something else I have in common with Pinkie is my love of parties. Truth be told, I'm glad Rainbow has me cornered like this. This secret has been my burden for nine years now. It will be nice to finally tell somepony. I sigh.

"Do you want to know my biggest secret?" I ask. Rainbow nods.

"I-I'm not Pinkie."

Rainbow Dash blinks. "Um….what..?"

"You know, Pinkie Pie? That smiling, happy airhead who always bakes everypony cupcakes? Well, that's not me. That's not who I am." I can't meet Rainbow's eyes. She probably thinks I'm crazy.

"Ooookay, Pinkie, I think you've had too much to drink," Rainbow backs towards the door. "So I'm just gonna take my stuff and… uh… go do some sane things."

I put my hoof on Rainbow's arm and look her in the eyes. "Aside from my sisters, you're the only other pony I've ever told this. I only told you because you're my closest friend. So please hear my out for a second." Rainbow Dash gulps and sits on her sleeping bag.

"So," she starts uneasily. "If you're not Pinkie, who are you?"

"My name is still pinkie and everything, if that's what you mean." I'm so stupid. Of course that's not what she meant.

"I guess that's good to know." Rainbow rolls her eyes. "I meant what are you really like?"

"I like to read and sew and draw," I admit.

"How come you never told Rarity or Twilight?" Rainbow asks.

"At this point, I'm not sure if they'd see that as something to bond over or flip out that I never told them before." We sit in silence for a while.

Eventually I look up at Rainbow. "Do you think the others will like me?" Rainbow puts her hoof on mine. "Of course they will," she assures me. "We just have to ease them into it, that's all. I'll tell you what, tomorrow we'll both go see Rarity and you can both sew or something. It'll be fun." Rainbow smiles and hugs me.

Rainbow yawns. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat." She crawls into her sleeping bag and puts in her earplugs. "Good night, Pinkie. Or whoever you are."

"Good night," I reply.

I fall asleep the second I close my eyes.


End file.
